EARLY INVESTMENTS Economists find that preschool only helps children if they funnel into well-resourced schools, which researchers say explain Tennessee’s poor performance in a landmark study. Chalkbeat

MEASURING UP A new study by a Stanford-based research group sets out to answer key questions that are hotly debated in the charter school world. What types of charters are most effective? Which networks are most successful? And what students benefit most? Chalkbeat

STUDENT INVENTORS Three Murfreesboro elementary students invent a vest designed to keep students with special needs safe on the playground. The Daily News Journal

TEACHER INVENTORS Twenty-five Hamilton County educators are selected for Teacherpreneur Incubator, with projects including an app that makes keeping track of vital student information easier during field trips and a drone racing obstacle course. Times Free Press

WAITING Germantown Municipal Schools sets a new deadline to hear from Shelby County Schools about its offer to buy three schools from the neighboring school district. The Commercial Appeal

SUMMER FOOD A study from Feeding America, a network of food banks across the country, found that more than 23 percent of children in Northeast Tennessee are “food insecure,” or at times uncertain where their next meal will come from. It gets worse in the summer when school is out. Johnson City Press

IN COURT A Williamson County teacher sues the school system alleging she “became the target of a systematic plan to bully her into resignation.” The Tennessean